Luring Amazon to El Paso: UTEP to offer 200 plus acres at old Asarco site
The University of Texas at El Paso plans to offer Amazon the opportunity to lease more than 200 acres at the old Asarco site in an effort to help the City of El Paso lure the online retail giant to the Borderland.
One of UTEP’s major assets “is real property in a prime location,” UTEP President Diana Natalicio said Monday, “UTEP will soon own the former Asarco site and we plan to make available for lease the 200-plus acres on the western half of that property.”
The portion of the property in question lies just northwest of Downtown El Paso and between Interstate 10 and the Mexican border, Natalicio said.
The UTEP president said that over the past 10 years, UTEP has awarded 15-thousand degrees in enginerring, computer science, science and business. Natalicio further stated 75 percent of the recipients of these degrees left the Borderland region to work elsewhere.
“We believe that this region, and its highly qualified workforce, will spark interest,” Natalicio said, “We also believe in longshots. UTEP’s recent history has been a series of longshots that have built both our strentgh and our reputation and I’m quite sure that going against these Amazon odds will strengthen our collective confidence and begin to change our own and other stereotypes of this region’s economic potential.”
Natalicio made the announcement during a news conference in which the City of El Paso and the Borderplex Alliance announced the launch of a social media campaign to promote the Borderland’s assets.
Both entities are working together to submit a quality proposal to Amazon by the October 19, 2017 deadline.
The City of El Paso is encouraging residents to share everything that makes El Paso great by using the tag #ELPASOTXHQ2.
“Amazon is looking for more than just incentives. They want to know what people do for fun. They want to know what it is to live, work and play in El Paso and the greater Borderplex region,” El Paso City Manager Tommy Gonzalez said.
